HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Norton Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

HHS Determination Concerning a Petition to Add Members to the 

Special Exposure Cohort 

under the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

Determination Concerning a Petition for Employees from 

Norton Company 

Worcester, Massachusetts
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Norton Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

I. Determination 

I, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), have determined 

that the employees defined in Section II of this report do not meet the statutory criteria for 

addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC), as authorized under the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), 42 U.S.C. § 7384q.

__October 26, 2011____ _[Signature on file]______________

Date Kathleen Sebelius

II. Employee Class Definition

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked in any building or area at the facility 

owned by Norton Co. (or a subsequent owner) in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 

October 11, 1962 through October 31, 2009.

III. Decision Criteria and Recommendations

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, to designate a class for addition to the SEC, the Secretary 

must determine, upon recommendation of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker 

Health (Board), that

(1) it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose that the class 

received; and

(2) there is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have endangered the 

health of members of the class.

The SEC final rule states in 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1) that it is feasible in two situations to

estimate the radiation dose that the class received with sufficient accuracy. First, the rule 

states that radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has 

established that it has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum radiation 

dose for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have 

been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the class. Alternatively, 

radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has established that it 

has access to sufficient information to estimate the radiation doses of members of the class 

more precisely than a maximum dose estimate.

In a letter received by the Secretary on September 19, 2011, the Board, pursuant to 42 

U.S.C. § 7384q, agreed with the following NIOSH findings, effectively advising the Secretary 

that radiation dose can be reconstructed with sufficient accuracy for certain Norton 

Company employees in accordance with provisions of EEOICPA and the SEC final rule. 

IV. Determination Findings
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Norton Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

Feasibility of Estimating Radiation Doses with Sufficient Accuracy

The Secretary established the feasibility determination for the class of employees covered 

by this report based upon the findings summarized below.

• NIOSH determined that workers during the residual period from October 11, 1962 

through October 31, 2009 may have received internal and external exposure to 

residual uranium, thoria, and thoron contamination that was generated during the 

operational and residual radiation periods. 

• NIOSH has determined that it has access to sufficient information to estimate the 

maximum internal radiation dose that could have been incurred from exposure to 

uranium, thoria, and thoron during the residual period. Using gross alpha air 

monitoring results collected at the Norton Co. near the end of the AWE operational 

period and during the residual radiation period, and the guidance in ORAUT-OTIB0070, and empirical source-term depletion-rate information, NIOSH can bound the 

internal doses potentially received from exposures to residual uranium and thoria for 

the period from October 11, 1962 through October 31, 2009. 

• NIOSH has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum external 

radiation dose that could have been incurred from exposure to uranium and thoria 

during the residual period. The gross alpha air contamination data from the 

operational period and the methods described in Battelle-TBD-6000 allow NIOSH to 

bound external doses from residual uranium and thoria for the period from October 

11, 1962 through October 31, 2009.

 

• NIOSH determined that the reconstruction of internal and external doses is feasible 

for the residual radiation period from October 11, 1962 through October 31, 2009. 

• NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient Norton Co. facility information to 

either (1) estimate the maximum internal and external radiation dose for every type 

of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have been incurred 

under plausible circumstances by any member of the evaluated class; or (2) estimate 

the internal and external radiation doses to members of the evaluated class more 

precisely than a maximum dose estimate.

• The Board concurred with the NIOSH findings.

Health Endangerment

Because the Secretary established that it is feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the 

radiation doses encountered by Norton Co. employees as specified in this class, a 

determination of health endangerment is not required.

V. Effect of the Determination
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Norton Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

Members of the class of employees covered by this determination and their survivors 

continue to be eligible to submit claims for compensation under EEOICPA. As required for 

cancer claims covering other DOE and Atomic Weapons Employer employees (or Atomic 

Weapons Employees) not included in the SEC, qualified cancer claims under Part B of 

EEOICPA for members of this class will be adjudicated by the Department of Labor, in part 

on the basis of radiation dose reconstructions which will be conducted by NIOSH.

VI. Administrative Review of Determination 

The determination provided in this report may be subject to an administrative review within 

HHS, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.18(a). On the basis of such a review, if the Secretary 

decides to designate the class of employees covered by this determination, in part or in 

whole, as an addition to the SEC, the Secretary would transmit a new report to Congress 

providing the designation and the criteria and findings on which the decision was based.